Sweet Dreams
by Kurissyma san Tybalt
Summary: In which Jane is too exhausted to resist Maura's unconventional solution to her sleeping problems. Rizzles fluff and smut in approximately equal measure. Two-shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** **It's been a while since I've posted anything here - so sorry about that! I've been working on a fair few things, on and off, but with my track record for unfinished stories I didn't want to post anything I wasn't sure I'd have the time or motivation to finish. If anyone's stuck around through my hiatus, I hope you enjoy this little two-shot!** **Becky**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Stress seeped out of Jane's body like honey poured from a jar. Maura's hand rubbing her thigh was smooth, slow and sweet, so sweet. Her eyes closed, a little sigh escaping.

How had this begun? Jane had had one of her nightmares. She'd arrived on Maura's doorstep in a pair of cotton pyjama shorts Maura had bought her (covered in tiny detective shields) and an old grey BPD shirt of the type that seemed to breed and multiply in her closet as the years passed, outnumbering by far all other items of clothing.

And Maura had answered, as she always did, although it was past midnight and she was, herself, already clad in a silky silver set of negligee - tiny, floaty shorts and an even tinier little tank top.

If Jane hadn't been so overwhelmed by exhaustion and anxiety, she might have noticed at the door the way that the cool air she let in had stiffened Maura's nipples beneath her shirt. It was exactly the kind of observation she was ashamed to make on a regular basis - amidst other insuppressible noticings of the slim waist, the tight ass, the oh-so-kissable lips...

As it was, Jane barely saw Maura as her friend opened the door. She took one glance at her friend's sympathetic expression and then buried her face in a shoulder, breathing in the expensively delicate scent of her, feeling the warm softness of silk beneath her fingers as her hands floated up to rest on Maura's shoulder blades.

Maura had been patient in leading her inside, getting her a hot drink, and then the two of them had settled onto the couch. The intention, of course, had been to talk it over, yet no words had come. And so Maura had lain back into one corner of the couch, offering Jane the other, turned the radio on and closed her eyes. The company was enough, she knew; the familiarity of Maura's face, her smell, her apartment. If Jane needed more she would ask.

And just like that, Maura had fallen asleep and Jane had followed. And not much later, they awoke again in the opposite order; Jane first, with a loud sob, a strangled cry.

Maura jolted awake a second later and, without the faintest hint of annoyance, although her back had already begun to stiffen and it was near 3am, she drew Jane into her arms. She wanted to suggest that they move to bed but thought that it would be better for Jane to calm down first; the movement could provide a change of scene later, a clean slate to chance sleep a third time.

With a fond kiss to Jane's ear, Maura leaned back into her corner of the couch and gently guided her best friend to lie back against her. Her legs opened and leaned to either side like a cradle and her arms stretched protectively around Jane's waist.

"Tell me what you've tried," Maura asked softly. A second kiss landed in Jane's hairline as Maura stroked her stomach with an idle thumb.

Jane swallowed tightly. "I tried meditation, like you said. And I tried rewriting the end of the dream. It won't work. I can't focus." Her cheeks burned with unearned shame. "I can't relax, Maur. And that just makes the nightmares worse the next time I fall asleep."

"Have you tried masturbating before you go to sleep?" Maura asked. She braced herself, expecting the usual show of Rizzoli bravado and indignance at the mention of sex but it seemed that Jane was too tired even for that.

"Yes," she answered quietly. "But I'm too nervous about the nightmares to- you know... To make it _work_."

Maura's thumb continued to draw slow patterns on Jane's stomach as she considered this - an absent motion that sent liquid comfort through Jane's veins, warming her up, removing the sting of the embarrassment. As Maura continued to consider their next step in silence, Jane let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes.

Maura craned her neck around Jane's to take a quick peek, surprised. Her thumb stilled and Jane's eyes opened, dark and unreadable.

"Don't stop," she murmured, her voice gravelly low. "That was kind of helping..."

Maura dropped her head back onto the cushion behind her and took a steadying breath. She resumed her strokes, albeit a little more self-consciously. "Jane, when you said that you were too nervous to make masturbation 'work'-"

"You know what I meant," Jane blustered, misinterpreting Maura's repetition. "I get nervous so I can't focus. I lose the fantasy 'cause I can't stop thinking about... you know, stuff, _Hoyt_... And I can't get off, which just makes me more frustrated-"

"Shh," Maura breathed.

Her thumb strokes had turned into the gentle caress of her fingertips and the odd graze of her nails over Jane's stomach during Jane's speech and now the change seemed to hit them both. Jane's body tensed and then relaxed a little. A curious smile tugged at the corners of Maura's lips. She slipped that hand down to Jane's thigh, relieved when the detective didn't protest.

"You're calming down now, aren't you?" she asked gently. "It's easier to focus on my touch than your own."

"I guess," Jane mumbled. Her cheeks were pinkening and she was glad Maura was laying behind her for that. ...Even if she _was_ now becoming aware, for the first time somehow, of silk-covered nipples pressing into her back.

Maura took a tight breath in. It was now or never. She slowed her hand on Jane's thigh and dragged her fingertips around to tickle the sensitive inner edge - a test. A stifled gasp from the woman between her legs was enough to reassure her that Jane was on the same page but she felt the need to explain regardless.

"My touch is keeping you calm," she hummed in time with slow, tender strokes of her fingers. "Do you think it's possible that I could keep you calm enough to bring you to orgasm, Jane?"

"I- I'm not sure _calm_ is the right word," Jane gasped but, as Maura's hand stilled against her thigh, she found herself covering that hand with her own. "...I _am_ focused entirely on you, though, that's for sure."

Maura kissed Jane's hair with a small smile. "So I have your attention," she confirmed lowly. "Do you think that if I stay like this, lying behind you, you could put aside the fact that it's me touching you?"

For a few seconds, Jane tried. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine someone else. Anyone else. Casey, then Martinez, even _Gabriel,_ as Maura would have called Agent Dean. She imagined big, muscular thighs on either side of her body, and a hard chest against her back. And then she felt Maura's free hand subconsciously playing through her hair and she realised that the pretense was unnecessary. There was nothing in Maura's velvety smooth and fragrant skin, or in the slick softness of her pyjamas, that didn't appeal. The press of plush breasts against her back was comfortable and, if she was honest, her stomach had begun to tighten with arousal some time ago.

Swallowing a lump so big that it might have been her heart, Jane squeezed Maura's hand. "I don't think I could forget that it's you, Maur," she confessed. Her throat stuck with dryness and she felt a pinch of guilt as Maura's body sagged beneath hers. "That doesn't mean I wouldn't be able to-" Jane swallowed again, fighting back discomfort. She ran the hand not covering Maura's over the doctor's own thigh and gave a nervous chuckle at her shiver. "I… I can feel you all around me. And it's _you_ , Maur. Familiar and feminine and _you_. I mean, of course I can't ignore that. But I also don't think I need you to be a guy to get me off, if you really wanna do that. You, as you are, are kind of more than enough to turn me on."

"Okay," Maura answered. This time her kiss landed against the shell of Jane's ear and the detective flinched a little from the tickle of her lips and then laughed - a surprised, happy little sound that made Maura's heart swell.

Shyly, Jane lifted her hand off of Maura's, and Maura gladly took the invitation to resume her slow caress of Jane's thigh.

It should've been strange. Maybe it should've even been frightening - bringing attraction and sex into a best-friendship as long-lasting and stable as theirs. Instead, Jane felt only the calm washing over her at being held in Maura's arms, and the meandering tendrils of arousal wrapping around her body, from between her thighs to the tips of her toes, the roots of her hair. A soft sigh escaped her as she leaned her head back onto Maura's shoulder. All of her anxiety and frustration about the nightmares was drifting away.

"Tell me what you like," Maura murmured against Jane's ear. "How should I touch you? Is there anywhere I can't?"

Boundaries. Boundaries were good, Jane thought. It if were anyone else she would've had a list of them. But this was Maura and Jane found, to her own surprise as much as Maura's, that she had nothing to say but, "I trust you, Maur..." Then, "I'm gonna like anywhere you touch me."

Maura's touch gained some confidence but it barely wandered and as Jane grew quietly frustrated, she made a decision. Swallowing hard she leaned forward, briefly disrupting Maura, and pulled her own shirt over her head. Then she unhooked her bra, somewhat more slowly, and tossed both aside before leaning back. The silk of Maura's pyjama shirt brushed sensually against her bare back, sending heat echoing through her body.

She couldn't bring herself to tell Maura what she wanted, nor even to meet her eye, but Jane took her best friend's hand and pulled it around to rest on her stomach and then, a few seconds later, dragged it up to cover an aching breast.

"Sorry," she murmured, almost hissed, as the contact flushed her core with heat. "Is it okay if you-" Jane's low voice blurred into a moan as Maura gently squeezed her breast, testing the feel of it in her hand. She forced a nod and closed her eyes, surrending to the light touch, arching into it, asking for more without words.

Maura's lips touched Jane's neck again in an uncertain kiss, a gesture of mutual reassurance. She began to draw her mouth away but the richness of Jane's familiar scent stopped her; she pressed closer instead. Then something in the encouraging way Jane leaned into her made Maura part her lips and leave a damper kiss. The inside of her bottom lip dragged over the sensitive skin of Jane's neck while her right hand teased a breast, her left still warming Jane's left thigh.

"M'... nipple..." Jane mumbled, embarrassed. Maura's shyness was an unintentional tease and Jane could feel the wetness pooling between her legs, her lower lips swelling, blood pumping. "Maur, just... mm..."

Maura's kisses turned to gentle nips as she plucked at Jane's nipple, tugging and slightly twisting it between two fingers. Then her mouth opened properly and she began to suck against Jane's sensitive neck, delighting in the growing instability of her breathing.

"Mm," Jane hummed tightly. She lifted a hand to cover Maura's on her thigh and squeezed it as Maura's ministrations grew more confident. "Y-you're making me so wet, Maur."

Maura shivered against her, firm nipples pressing hard into Jane's back. She shifted her hips slightly as a hard suck to Jane's neck caused the brunette to quiver and let out a beautiful little whimper. "Can I take off your shorts?" she breathed. The thought of Jane's wetness on her fingers was dizzying and her heart raced as Jane sucked in a breath and held it.

"Kay!" She squeaked. Then she sat jerkily, causing her breasts to bounce, and stood to shimmy out of her shorts and panties at once. She was embarrassed, hardly wearing lingerie, but nothing could cool the heat sparking between her thighs.

Chancing a glance down at Maura, Jane was hit afresh by arousal. The blonde lay reclined on the couch with her legs apart to create the space where Jane had lain between them. Her cheeks were hot and flushed, her glistening eyes wide, taking in Jane's naked body inch by inch. Unthinkingly, Jane climbed back onto the couch, shifting her body between Maura's thighs once again but facing her this time. Her small breasts were inches from brushing Maura's own covered ones and from the heated glance they shared it seemed that both were acutely aware of that fact.

"Y-you don't want to turn around?" Maura asked. She blushed as it struck her just how badly she hoped that Jane wouldn't.

"I kind of want to kiss you," Jane murmured, her voice dark honey. "...But I can turn back around if you want. And you can just touch me from behind like you were before." She squeezed her thighs together at the thought. "Just, let's do something, Maur. 'Cause I'm so stupidly turned on..."

Maura forced herself to focus on the pleading look Jane gave her but her mind had ground to a halt after the detective's first statement. "Kiss me?" she asked and somehow it came out sounding more like an order than a question.

A second later Jane's lips were on hers and Maura gasped in surprise before tangling her hands in dark hair and dragging her friend closer. The warm weight of Jane's bare breasts pressed against Maura's now, clad only in thin silk, and a second later Jane's hands were beneath her pyjama top, searching and grasping. Sharp, narrow hips rolled against Maura's and Jane let a low grunt escape. Her hands followed the curves of Maura's breasts and began to knead them, compressing them, learning their easy malleability and perfectly soft, silky texture, the taut ridges of a crinkled areola and pert nipple straining for attention.

Jane let out a soft gasp against Maura's mouth as she explored the perfect mounds and the ways that she could touch them to make Maura respond to her. She reached for the hem of Maura's shirt and gave an inelegant upwards tug. "Wanna see," she mumbled shyly and Maura smiled as she raised her arms over her head and let Jane remove her shirt. "O-oh gawd, Maur..." Jane moaned. "Your breasts are so... You're perfect." A pained expression shifted over her face as a particularly strong wave of arousal crashed over her and her hips gave a little jerk. "I-I need you to touch- touch me. …Okay?"

Maura nodded and cupped Jane's cheeks understandingly, drawing her into a soft kiss. "Is it okay if we take this into the bedroom?" she asked. "I think we may have crossed that line..."

Jane's cheeks coloured even as she laughed. "Yeah," she confessed. "I kinda think we might have too."

Clambering to her feet, Jane crossed one leg over the other, embarrassed by her nakedness as she extended a hand to help Maura up. Maura took her hand with an encouraging smile and then leaned in for a short kiss before pulling her down the hall and up the stairs. When she felt Jane hesitate at the threshold of her bedroom, she squeezed the detective's clammy hand.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Jane answered breathlessly. "I'm, um, I'm good..." She let Maura guide her gently inside and then watched as the blonde dropped her hand to pull down her own pyjama shorts and panties with a sultry wiggle of her hips. Jane drifted closer as if by some hidden magnetic force until her hands found Maura's bare hips. She held the doctor a little closer than arm's length as her eyes skimmed down the doctor's body, taking in the neat thatch of curls at the apex of her thighs. Her breath caught.

Maura lifted a hand to Jane's cheek, tilting her face up so that their eyes met. "You're sure?" she clarified.

Jane's hands tightened on Maura's hips. "Yes. _Please_." Her gaze flicked needily toward the bed. "I need- Please, Maur. Christ, you're gorgeous."

"This is very new," Maura murmured. She tilted her chin up to press a somewhat cautious kiss against Jane's lips and she had to smile then at the high little whine of frustration Jane released. "...I do have to admit, I love seeing you like this."

"What, begging?" Jane moaned, causing Maura to laugh.

"Well yes, that's quite nice," she teased, running a hand down Jane's thigh. "But it's more than that. It's knowing how much you _need_ to be touched right now and knowing that _I_ can do that for you, Jane." Maura's fingers curled into her palm and she grazed her knuckles lightly over the detective's skin. "I've always been the person you came to for friendship, love, laughter... But I think - no, I know - that I resented Casey, more than anything because you needed him for something I couldn't give you."

Tears sprung to the doctor's eyes unbidden and she released a shaky breath as Jane's lips brushed hers again. Her heart hammered against her ribs, her mouth falling open as she tried to process the implications of a kiss so sweet - a kiss not necessitated by desire but _inspired_ by… by something else. Maura cupped Jane's cheek and pulled her into a slow, exploratory kiss, cataloging each sensation that sent love and warmth flushing through her veins.

Gently, Maura guided Jane to lie back on the bed and climbed over her, soul as bare as her skin. "It means so much to me, Jane," she confessed. "The fact that you'll let me do this for you. It makes me so happy..."

And although Jane blushed, she kissed Maura back, fiercely now. Her hands ran up Maura's smooth, firm thighs to cup her hips, then ran back down. Her heart beat fast, her mind scattering. What now? What _first?_ This was Maura - _her_ Maura - completely, beautifully naked, and leaning over her, breasts bouncing as she leaned in for kiss after kiss after kiss...

"I love you," Jane gasped and it was so natural and so unintended a confession that she didn't fully realise the weight of it until Maura's mouth left hers and, when it did, she opened her eyes to find Maura's own wide and disbelieving, watching her. A blush sprang up over Jane's cheeks and she tried to hide it by kissing Maura again but this time Maura tilted her head away, her eyes flicking back to study the detective.

"...Maura?" Jane whined.

"Sorry," Maura breathed in reply, a small smile edging at her lips now. She looked down at Jane with eyes full of love. "I'm just taking that in."

"Please, Maur," Jane pleaded. "I need you - so much."

Maura's hands rubbed Jane's hips reassuringly as her smile broadened and she leaned down to place a kiss at the tip of her nose. "I know," she promised. "But tomorrow morning we're going to wake up as lovers. That change is happening right now. And I want to remember these feelings perfectly. I want to remember the way you begged me to touch you. More than anything I want to remember you telling me that you love me - in whatever way you meant it, Jane."

Jane lifted a hand to Maura's cheek and gently guided her into a kiss. Her lips were soft and light, not intending to pressure Maura, just to share the intimacy of the moment with her. "I can't explain how I meant it," she admitted. "I know I've never felt this kind of love with anyone else."

Maura let her hand slide between Jane's legs, placing a light tickle over her clit that made her shiver.

"I just- I just love you," Jane whimpered, her breath catching as Maura's fingers dipped between her soft, damp labia and dragged through her wetness. "A-anyone else I think I could love - Dean, Casey, anyone - I always end up comparing them to you. And they can't compare, Maur. Maybe this is why- _mmm_ …. Maura!" The detective's breath hitched as Maura's index finger pressed lightly against her entrance.

"It's time to stop talking, my love, " Maura whispered sweetly. "I appreciate your words so much but right now... I want to make love to you."

Slow explorative strokes became faster, more intense, and Jane moved her hips in time to the rhythm her doctor set, letting out an appreciative whine. "Th-this isn't what friends do, Maur! This is so not normal!"

Maura smirked, knowing from the tight expression of pleasure on her best friend's face that she wasn't really complaining. The gorgeous wet _pop_ of her fingers sliding in and out of Jane confirmed it for her. God, she was dripping. Maura shifted her own hips over Jane's thigh, seeking out friction for her swollen clit, and sending arousal coursing through her lover in the process. A few low moans punctuated Maura's movements before she managed to reply, "Normal is relative, Jane! And we-" A gasp now. " _We_ are outliers."

"Or we're m-more than friends, Maur," Jane moaned back, tearing a breathless laugh from the doctor's throat. She lifted a hand into dampening blonde hair, amazed the by intimacy of that moment - hearing Maura laugh, sharing a joke with her, while Maura made love to her.

Maura leaned her cheek into Jane's palm and pressed her fingers deeper inside before shimmying down her lover's body to press a teasing kiss against her clit. "...That is a distinct possibility," she agreed, and then, without looking up to see Jane's bewildered expression, she closed her mouth over her clit and gently sucked.

Jane's breathing, which had been uneven for some time, began to grow frantic. Her hips jerked so hard, Maura had to hold her down, and every time her mouth fell open, some delicious involuntary sound of pleasure rolled out into the room.

"M-Maura!" she cried. "I'm gonna-!"

"Mmmm," Maura moaned. "That's it..." She curled her fingers tight and her lips trembled against Jane's pussy, the sound of her lover's excitement nearly sending her over the edge. "That's it, sweetheart. Come for me. Let me take care of you." Her thrusts sped up and Jane gave a tense shout, her hands growing tight in Maura's hair, spurring her on.

"S-so good, Maur. _...Ah! I-"_

"Come, Jane," Maura begged between delicious licks. "I've got you. I need to see you come for me."

Jane was nodding hard, her eyes shut tight, and she groaned and whined all the way through her orgasm, as whiteness flashed behind her eyelids and the world around her seemed to stall, freezing her in glorious release. " _Maura,"_ she choked. "Oh God, beautiful Maura..."

"Sweetie, I'm here," Maura whispered in reply.

As Jane came down, her closed eyelids softened in sleepy relaxation and she felt, rather than saw, Maura crawl up alongside her to kiss her face and neck.

With a blissful smile, Maura then shifted back to lie on her side, taking in Jane's beautifully ruffled post-coital form more fully. She slipped a hand between her own legs to nudge her clit and caught Jane's eye as the detective turned her head and blinked hazily. She began to shift but Maura shook her head.

"Let me," she whispered. "I'm not going to last long. You just lie still and let the tiredness come over you."

A soft hum sounded Jane's exhausted acceptance. Through half-lidded eyes, she held Maura's gaze as the doctor softly gasped and sighed, lifting a hand to stroke through mussed blonde curls in a slow, lazy motion. Maura came with a quiet whimper, which Jane kissed from her lips with an expression of total reverence. Moments later, Jane was soundly asleep and Maura took her turn to watch the flushed Italian with her wild dark hair until sleep overtook her too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Maura woke by habit shortly before her alarm was due to sound and managed to extricate herself from Jane's arms just in time to turn it off before it woke the sleeping detective. Jane needed the rest, Maura reasoned. They could stay in bed a little while longer. With an affectionate smile, Maura folded herself back against Jane's chest. Her smile grew as she felt a long arm slip around her bare waist and squeeze.

"You're naked," Jane mumbled sleepily without opening her eyes. "And in my bed."

"Actually, you're in _my_ bed," Maura reminded her with a quiet chuckle and Jane opened her eyes then, to blink at the room around her. A glimmer of understanding flickered in her expression. She remembered the nightmares, arriving at Maura's door, and - blushing - all that had followed.

"You... You did _that..._ for me," Jane faltered. It wasn't a question but she sounded bewildered.

"It worked," Maura answered, the barest hint of uncertainty in her voice now. "You slept through the rest of the night, Jane."

To Maura's relief, her lover had begun to grin. "How was I gonna have a nightmare after that?!" She trailed her fingertips over Maura's hip with a disbelieving little laugh, following them with her eyes until Maura's hand on her chin gently guided her gaze upward. Their eyes met and Jane's blush deepened but she still met Maura's kiss with lips upturned in a helpless smile.

Jane trailed her fingers from Maura's hip to her shoulder as she kissed her, then cupped her neck with both hands to pull her in closer. She could clearly feel every inch of the little doctor pressed up against her and the thought that this should feel strange in its newness barely occurred to her. It was as though Maura's body was made to fit against hers.

"Hey," she said softly, an entirely different thought striking her as she leaned her head back. She wet her lips, embarrassed. "Y-you know I would've done the same for you, right? Last night? I wasn't just-"

Maura kissed the worry from Jane's lips. "I wanted you to sleep," she promised.

"Yeah but I wasn't-"

Maura smiled to see Jane stumble over her words.

"-I wasn't just using you like a sleeping pill, y'know?" Jane's cheeks were as red as they'd ever been, her olive complexion offering little respite. Nervously, she tucked a lock of honey blonde hair behind Maura's ear, earning a little chuckle in the process. "I reallly... honestly... _wanted_ that, Maur. I mean I _want_ that - _this_. With you."

"I love you," Maura murmured in reply - the summation of Jane's nervous ramblings - and she could feel the detective's sigh of relief. "And, Jane, you can have me anytime you want. ...E _xcept,"_ she dodged a kiss here, "right now. We have to get up for work."

* * *

Maura volunteered to take the first shower and so Jane lay in the doctor's bed, nudging the twisted sheets with her toes until she could no longer stand the inactivity or, equally, the continuous patter of running water that meant Maura was naked just behind the en suite door.

Sliding out of bed, Jane ran her fingers through her hair twice before finding her pyjamas from the night before and then - at the last second - one of Maura's robes. It wasn't a decision made so much for the additional modesty as it was made for herself.

This robe wasn't the same one that she had seen Jack parading around in one morning almost a year ago (thankfully Jane hadn't seen Maura wearing that particular robe since either and she sincerely hoped that it had been unsentimentally disposed of) but that morning had affected Jane more than she'd cared to admit at the time. Out of nowhere she'd felt a deep emotional push to send him packing. Sure Jack was a human _Ken_ _doll_ of male charm, thoughtfulness, and success, but Jane had hated him as much as she'd hated any of the loser boyfriends that had preceded him. No matter how suave he was, he had no place in Maura's kitchen, in her wardrobe, in her bed. No one did. (No one _else_ ).

Now, Jane took absolute pleasure in swathing herself in the silky lavender folds of one of Maura's favourite robes, as if claiming herself for the beautiful blonde. The boundaries of their relationship remained murky in their newness, yet for once that didn't petrify the detective. She had faith that they would figure it out. She already knew that she would give Maura any part of herself that she asked. In many ways, she had done so a long time ago.

And so it was with her guard completely down and a broad smile on her face to boot, that Jane paraded into Maura's kitchen, intent on a first cup of coffee to complete the best morning of her life. Maybe she'd even do battle with the doctor's crazy coffee machine so that she could surprise her lover with the good stuff!

All of these thoughts flew from Jane's mind, however, when she saw her own mother, fully dressed, standing at the stove over a pan full of bunny pancakes. Fuck. Maura had turned off her alarm; it was later than usual and Angela was already here. Jane's cheeks flooded red but she couldn't move. Her feet froze against the tiles as her mother reacted to the footsteps and began to turn.

"Morning, Mau-"

The silence that should have been filled by the second half of Maura's name was deafening and Jane pulled her lover's robe tighter around her defensively.

"Morning, Ma!" Jane winced at the unnaturally high pitch at which her own voice escaped and Angela's mouth fell open. "Um…" she faltered guiltily, glancing around the kitchen for a distraction. "D-do you know how to work, um, how to work the coffee machine… y'know, for Maur?"

Angela gawped for only a few moments longer before turning to flip her pancakes over without a word.

"Ma?" Jane tried again, more softly, and Angela forced a nod.

"Just let me finish the pancakes," she answered, still not turning back around. Her voice was as high-pitched as Jane's had been, with a little quiver added in, and Jane felt her heart break to hear it.

"Um, I can finish the pancakes if you make the coffee…?" she suggested, although there were a hundred things she wanted to explain first. She was relieved when her mother finally nodded and stepped back, entrusting her pancakes to Jane while she retrieved a set of mugs from the cupboard - three, Jane noticed. At least her mother wasn't going to run away (although Jane thought _she_ might).

"So, you and Maura had a bit of a girls' night last night?" Angela tried hopefully as the coffee machine began to grumble. She glanced at Jane over her shoulder but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I had a bad nightmare," Jane answered. Her voice was quiet as she prodded at the pancakes with a spatula. "Sometimes when they're too much, Maur lets me come around. To talk. Or just… not be alone."

"So that's all-?" Angela began with a sigh of relief but Jane's expression as she took the pancakes off the stove and turned caused the Rizzoli matriarch to fall uncharacteristically silent. "…Oh," she finally said.

"We've never… _before_ ," Jane felt the need to promise. "It's not like we've been sneaking around behind your back or something. Honestly, we just- I mean- It was _bad_ , last night, Ma. And I needed her. …In a different way than I thought I did."

Biting her lip, Angela passed Jane a cup of coffee and gave an uncertain nod. "Maura's robe is a really pretty colour on you, Janie."

Jane grinned at that, flipping her messy curls over one shoulder and striking a sassy pose just as Maura walked into the kitchen and burst into such a joyful bout of laughter that Angela had to join in.

"What?" Jane whined, not even trying to hide her excitement or her relief at Maura's entry. "I can pull it off!"

Maura flipped her own hair, now neatly blow-dried, and winked. "Of course you can, Jane." She nodded gratefully as Angela handed her a cup of coffee too. "Thank you, Angela. I'm so glad that _one_ _of you_ can work the coffee machine."

Angela chuckled, shaking her head at that. "I've told Janie a hundred times, she's never gonna find a man if she can't at least make a good cup of coffee! But it seems like my worries were misplaced."

Maura's jaw dropped as she caught the sparkle in Angela's eye, and she rounded on Jane, shocked but delighted that the detective had seen fit to confess their activities to her mother. Jane offered an apologetic shrug, mistaking Maura's surprise for censure, yet seconds later found herself being pulled into a kiss every bit as passionate as it was public.

Jane touched Maura's cheek in a brief gesture of understanding as they separated and then ducked her head before turning back to her mother. The hand not wrapped around her hot coffee, she wrapped around Maura's waist, pulling the smaller woman's warm body flush against her side. "So you're okay with this, Ma?" she hinted with a hopeful flutter of her eyelashes.

At that, Angela began to scoop her finished set of perfect bunny pancakes onto three plates and to draw faces on them with a bottle of syrup. She kept her head lowered, both to concentrate and in an attempt to mask her increasingly bright smile. Stifling a cruel little giggle, the Rizzoli matriarch let her daughter sweat for a few long moments more before whipping her head up and setting the syrup down on the counter with a flourish. "I'd welcome you to the family," she announced to Maura. "But, sweetie, you've been part of our family for a long time."

All at once, Angela's bravado was melting into sweetness and sincerity in a way that couldn't help but remind Maura of Jane. Happy tears flew to her eyes and Maura found herself leaning heavily into Jane's side as the detective squeezed her arm around her and dropped a tender kiss on top of her head. "Angela, thank you," she whispered. "That means so much."

Angela shrugged the praise off, as per her nature, but an appreciative grin lingered at the corner of her mouth. "I don't know anyone who could love my Janie like you already do, Maura," she added truthfully and Maura's beam grew, if possible, brighter still.

"There's no one on this earth I love more," she breathed.

Halfway to picking up a pancake in her free hand, Jane instead wrapped both arms around Maura's waist and pulled her into a tight, possessive hug. Her voice, when she was finally able to speak, came out choked with emotion, huskier even than usual. It was, Maura thought, her favourite sound.

"How'd I get so lucky, Ma?" Jane managed to ask, and into Maura's hair she murmured, "Maur, I'm so so done pretending I ever wanted anyone but you…"

It was only later, once the three of them had shared a breakfast filled with love and laughter and Maura had hustled Jane on into her car in a last ditch attempt to get them to work on time, that Jane had a chance to reflect fully on the past day's happenings and how, most improbably, her worst nightmares had caused her sweetest dreams to come true.


End file.
